Emerald Ash Borer Disease

About the Disease's Impact

In the past few weeks, 2 more metro counties, Chisago and Scott, have been added to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) quarantine because of confirmed infestations, besides the continued spread in southeastern Minnesota. Last year, Wisconsin added several new counties to their quarantine. One big challenge is detecting it, as each time a new find is confirmed, investigation shows it was there for some time before being discovered.

Controls being deployed include release of parasitoids (tiny, stingless wasps that are predators of EAB) and bio-surveillance (monitoring the nests of other insects that collect the EAB family of beetle) for possible earlier detection.

The City of North St. Paul is doing preemptive removals in conjunction with street projects. This is an appropriate opportunity to reduce the high percentage of large ash trees on the boulevards that will otherwise be dying all at once in the near future. In response to specific concerns they have checked the upper canopy branches of certain trees using an aerial lift.

Resources

There is a wealth of information on the internet about EAB, including maps, how to identify it, the latest research, and advice on how to fight it, both for the individual tree owner and as a community, and the consequences of not doing so, such as the loss of property value.